Ferris Wheels Her Way To The Top
The Age
Monday October 18, 1993
Michelle Ferris might lack the maturity of an older athlete, but the 17-year-old has already proved herself capable of seizing life and taking the tough option.
After quitting school in Warrnambool earlier this year in order to concentrate on cycling, Ferris has shown up the doubters. Those who claimed she was making the wrong decision had to congratulate the sprinter when she won two silver medals at the world junior championships in Perth this month.
Not that two medals were part of the game plan. Ferris was originally entered in only one event, the one-kilometre sprint. She pulled up so well after the race that her coach suggested she try the point score, a 20-kilometre chase Ferris had neither trained for nor experienced.
Expected to pull out during the early stages of the 80laps, Ferris instead hung on to come second.
``After 20laps I was absolutely buggered but I just stayed in there," she said. ``It's amazing what a difference a crowd makes. It was a small home crowd all behind me and I didn't want to pull out with people supporting me.
``I rang my coach 15minutes before the race and said `How do you ride the point score?' Because I hadn't trained for it, I didn't have the endurance, so I had to make sure I could recover.
After 10laps of a point score, the riders sprint for one lap, then slow down for another 10. Ferris chose to go full bore on every second sprint, then recover on the next. Her rather unorthodox strategy paid off. She will not, however, continue racing distances: the shorter races are where her ambition lies.
All athletes love to argue theirs is the toughest sport, but Ferris was convincing when she said sprinting was more mentally draining than other forms of cycling.
``Long distances take the speed and strength out of you," she said.
``You can't react quickly like you do in sprints.
``Even though it's a shorter distance and probably a lot slower, until that last bit, it's the hardest because you've always got to be alert.
You have to constantly think about what the other rider is going to do as well as what you're going to do. The decision you make has to be the decision. You haven't got time to change your mind.
The championships affirmed Ferris' status as Australia's top-ranked junior female sprinter. Next month she travels to Japan, then returns home to hit the summer circuit. If she is pleased with the success of this year, 1994 is shaping up to be even more bountiful. To be eligible for the Commonwealth Games she needs to complete 200metres in 11.7seconds. Ferris made the distance in 11.8 a few weeks ago and is confident she can only improve.
© 1993 The Age